NASA -astronauts Sunita “Suni” Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore has been at the International Space Station since June, though they initially expected to stay for just eight days. They come back on earth at the end of March. But it may not be fast enough for President Donald Trump.
“I just asked Elon Musk and SpaceX to ‘go and get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have almost been abandoned in the space of the Biden administration,” Trump wrote in truth social, according to NPR. “Good luck elon !!!”
The astronauts are far from abandoned. The delay was caused because NASA and Boeing engineers discovered problems with the spacecraft that brought the astronauts into space and chose to return that vehicle to the ground without crew.
And it is unclear what Musk could do, as the two are already scheduled to fly home on a capsule made by his company, SpaceX, and that capsule is already rooted in the ISS. So technically, the astronauts could go home at any time, but it would leave the space station briefly and jeopardize projects, says NPR.
Spacewalk -time
In mid-January, at least one of them was going out-and the other plans to do so. Williams collaborated with astronaut Nick Hague on a space walk on January 16, and both Williams and Wilmore are preparing for a space walk together on January 30.
NASA -astrronaut Suni Williams is seen outside the International Space Station under 16 January 2025, Spacewalk.
On January 16, Spacewalk replaced Williams and Hague a speed Gyro assembly that helps preserve the orientation of Orbital Outpost, NASA said. It was the fourth spacewalk for The Hague and the eighth for Williams. The astronauts also installed patches to cover damaged areas with lightweight filters on the Neutron Star Interior Composition Explorer X -ray file cup, replaced a reflector unit on one of the international docking adapters and controlled access areas and plug tools that astronauts will use for future alpha magnetic spectrometer maintenance.
On January 30, Spacewalk, which begins at 1 p.m. 8 one and the last six and a half hours, Williams and Wilmore Radio antenna hardware removes and searching for microbes outside Orbital Outpost.
The two astronauts say that even though they miss their families, they still have work to keep them busy.
“Eventually we will go home,” Williams said at a recent news conference. “We left our families a little while ago, but we have a lot to do here and we have to get those things done before we go.”
February Return is now March
Recently, NASA pushed back Williams and Wilmore’s return to Earth from February to the end of March.
“NASA and SpaceX assessed various options for handling the next crew delivery, including using another dragon room vessel and manifestations,” according to a NASA press release issued on December 17. “After careful consideration, the team decided that the launch of crew -10 in late March, after the end of the new Dragon room vessel, was the best opportunity to meet NASA’s requirements and reach space station target for 2025.
The delay is so that NASA and SpaceX teams can end work on the mission’s new dragon room vessel. The new craftsmanship launches four crew to ISS – Commander Anne McClain, Commander, Pilot Nichole Ayers, Japanese astronaut Takuya Onishi and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Kirill Peskov. Once the new crew is settled, Williams, Wilmore, NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov return to Earth.
But Williams and Wilmore do not complain about their extended stays.
“I like everything about being up here,” Williams said in early December. “To live in the room is super fun.”
The astronauts are busy with Williams and Wilmore, helping the other ISS residents in rumbotany studies and other research, according to NASA’s ISS blog. They have helped in more than 60 scientific studies in their nearly six months on board, the Washington Post reports.
Here’s what you need to know about what the two astronauts have up to.
Who are the astronauts?
Wilmore, 61, and Williams, 58, are veteran astronauts and are both naval officers and former test pilots. Williams has been a NASA astrronaut since 1998 and Wilmore since 2000. Both have plenty of experience in space.
Williams is the former record holder for most space walks of a woman (seven) and most space hiking time for a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes), and in 2007 she ran the first marathon of any person in the room.
In 2009, Wilmore Space Shuttle Atlantis piloted on his mission to ISS, and in 2014 he was part of the ISS crew that used a 3D printer to manufacture a tool – a screw change – in space, the first time people made somewhat off- World.
What was their original mission in space?
Wilmore, as commander, and Williams, as a pilot, traveled to ISS on a 15-foot wide, Boeing-made capsule called Starliner. They were launched on June 5 and rooted with ISS on June 6th. NASA HOPES Starliner will give the organization a new way to get crews to and from ISS, and the fact that it is Boeing-Made is another sign that NASA is starting to lean on the private sector of its human space opportunities reported New York Times.
Wilmore and Williams’ ISS missions should last only eight days where they would test aspects of Starliner and see how it works with a human crew in space. But due to complications with Starliner, the two astronauts are still up there.
What do the astronauts say?
The astronauts have been positive for their experience. At a live news conference in September, Williams said that despite knowing that their mission was scheduled to take only eight days, they both had “training for a number of years” for it. They are fully qualified to stay in space for a long period of time and to help piloting SpaceX Dragon vessel that brings them home next year.
“It’s very peaceful up here,” Williams said on September 13, though she added that they miss their families back on earth.
Astronauts work on research, maintenance and data analysis during their extended stays.
“We have fun here at the ISS,” Williams said at a news conference held from Orbit in July. “I’m not complaining. Butch doesn’t complain that we’re up here for a few extra weeks.”
Wilmore and Williams answer media questions back in March.
How did they get stuck in the room in the first place?
Starliner was delayed in May due to a problem with a valve in the rocket. Then engineers had to fix a helium leak. That’s all bad news for Boeing. It is competing with SpaceX, which has transported astronauts to ISS since 2020, making over 20 successful trips to the space station.
Starliner finally launched, at the top of an Atlas V rocket, on June 5, but some problems came with it. NASA announced that three helium leaks were identified, one of which was known before flight, and two new ones. In addition to the leaks, the crew had to troubleshoot unsuccessful controls, although the vessel was able to dock with ISS.
SpaceX has also had mistakes. A Falcon 9 rocket exploded on Launchpad in 2016. In July this year, a Falcon 9 -rocket experienced a floating oxygen leak and put his satellites in the wrong course, the New York Times reported. And a Falcon 9 rocket at the end of August lost a first-step booster as it overturned into the Atlantic and fired fire.
But that said, SpaceX has more than 300 successful Falcon 9 aircraft for its credit.
Stuck in space: A timeline
- May: The Starliner launch delayed due to a problem with a valve in the rocket, and then a helium leak.
- June 5: Starliner is launched with Williams and Wilmore on board.
- June 6: Starliner dock with ISS despite having treated three helium leaks and failed controls.
- September 6: Starliner departs ISS and lands in New Mexico and leaves Williams and Wilmore afterwards.
- September 28: SpaceX Crew-9 Mission is launched with Hague and Gorbunov on a dragon room vessel.
- September 29: SpaceX Dragon Docks with ISS.
- December 17: NASA announces the launch of four crew to ISS will be delayed from February to the end of March.
- March 2025 onwards: Spacex Dragon Spacecraft returns to Earth with Williams, Wilmore, Hague and Gorbunov.